All the new games and apps that deserve your time this week

Need a new app to occupy your commute? Looking for a fresh challenge for your console?

Here we present a rolling archive of the best game releases of the week, from AAA titles to mobile marvels.

Roam through the gallery to discover games you may have missed.

Forza Horizon 3

Platforms: Xbox One, PC

We were impressed with Forza Horizon 3. Really impressed. We even went and called it "the best racing game ever made" in a big long review you can read over here.

In short: Horizon 3 is the most accessible, enjoyable, visually-arresting driving experience you've ever had from a console game. As the head of your very own driving festival (think Fast & Furious with fewer vests), you cruise around glorious Australian locations - from beaches to the outback, with urban bits breaking up the sandy stretches - taking part in exhibitionist stunts and races or challenging passing super cars to point-to-point dashes.

Where other driving games slip into monotony or lack control and accuracy, Horizon 3 finds the perfect line between reckless fun and exacting precision. One for anyone who has ever stopped to look at a car in the street, or pressed an accelerator harder than they really should have.

FIFA 17

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Stop it. You may well shrug. But you’re going to buy this title anyway, aren’t you? It’s FIFA. FIFA 17, to be exact, and you’re going to be damned if your friends come over for a video game session and have to make do with last year’s teams, like primordial savages.

The good news is that, once again, it proves a worthy investment, perhaps the most for some time. Shaper than a Sergio Aguero trim at the sides, a new game engine and ‘pass with purpose’ function means team movement and passing is better than ever (expect your aimless through ball ratio to drop severely), while, perhaps best of all, newly added ‘pushback technology’ puts more of the emphasis on 50/50 midfield skirmishes.

Furthermore, it’s also still the best-looking (yes, we’re shallow) football game on the market, no doubt about that. Along with all the official kits and stadia, the player and manager likenesses are incredible (yep, you can even see the likes of Pep barking orders on the touchline) and its new career mode, The Journey, is without exaggeration the Game of Thrones of football simulators.

Winter is coming and you’re not even going to leave the house.

Get it here

Paul Pixel

Platforms: iOS

Paul Pixel doesn't look like a superhero, as people readily tell him. He looks like a really normal bloke, living a fairly average life. Until an alien invasion of infectious zombies ruins everything.

This retro point-and-click adventure shares a heart with the likes of humorous gems of old: Monkey Island, Maniac Mansion, Day of the Tentacle. It's silly. It's ridiculous. It'll have you tapping around your screen, directing Paul around on his mental journey.

Destiny: Rise of Iron

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4

"Didn't Destiny come out, like, two years ago?"

Yes indeed - all the way back on 9 September 2014.

"So what's this?"

This is the reason you're going to want to actually start playing it: the latest expansion to the multiplayer online shooter challenges players to take their place as the next generation of Iron Lords. Along the way they will join forces with a legend from humanity’s Golden Age to defeat a plague of unstoppable evil once and for all.

What that translates into is a new setting on Earth called The Plaguelands, a brand-new six-player Raid, Felwinter Peak, a new social space that looks out onto The Plaguelands, new cooperative three-player Strike, more quests, weapons, gear, competitive multiplayer mode and maps, a Light level increase, a new mutated enemy faction of the Fallen and more.

Thanks to a series of tweaks, fixes and updates, Destiny is now the vast, expansive video game Bungie promised us we'd get back in 2014. Better late than never, eh?

Virginia

Platforms: PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4

You're doubtless bored of hearing the promise that "video games are the new films!" We're terribly sorry, but we're about to say it again.

Virginia is a first-person narrative-driven game about an FBI agent Anne Tarver and her attempt to discover a missing person. It treads a familiar story arch you've encountered in the likes of Twin Peaks, Fargo, The X-Files, but with one major difference: there's not a single line of dialogue. You just walk around picking things up, approaching people and watching the beautifully animated story unfold.

"That sounds dull", you'll probably be thinking. But it works. Really works. You'll sit through it's two-hours-ish experience, looking for items, "talking" to characters, watching pieces of the story fit together around you and not want to touch another game until you've finished it.

It's not like anything else you'll play this year - and that's a very good thing.

BioShock: The Collection

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4

Would you kindly step back into one of the greatest video game franchises of all time?

Okay, so that quote will be lost on anyone who hasn't entered the watery world of Rapture - the primary setting of the twisted, darkly brilliant BioShock series. The Collection is a graphical remastering of all three titles (and all their subsequent additional content), giving a fresh lick of HD paint to the first-person shooter thrills of this seminal series.

Each instalment sees you step into the shoes of a protagonist stranded in a world where humanity has moved away from the conventional rules of society, falling prey to a chaos that comes from allowing science and industry to reach unchecked heights. Bad news for the community, great news if you want to inject yourself with a flame thrower super power. One of the most epic journeys you'll ever encounter with a controller.

NBA 2K17

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Look at that picture. Drink in every detail of it; the reflection of the players in the varnished hardwood floor, the creases of the shorts, the slowly-closing grip of those hands around the ball. This isn't a photograph - it's just how bloody gorgeous the new NBA 2K17 title looks.

Besides its graphical prowess, 2K17 offers a heap of different play modes to suit your preference: MyCAREER allows you to focus on nailing your career path with a narrative featuring the likes of Michael B Jordan, MyTEAM, which lets you build your own team of all-stars and a heap of league options including teams from the NBA, the Euroleague and classic teams.

If you've got even so much as a passing interest in basketball, you need this game in your life.

Pro Evolution Soccer 17

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC

Is it that time of year already?

New features including 'Real Touch' (the first touch of players is determined by their personal stats), 'Precise Pass' (you'll have to take account of the movement of the ball if you're going to master the art of passing) and 'Advanced Instructions' (change the entire mental ideology of your team) have been added to a new graphics engine that makes the beautiful game look "proper fit".

ReCore

Platforms: Xbox One, Windows

Do you miss the days of good ol' platform games? None of this running about with massive machine guns and getting shot in the head by an American teenager with vastly more impressive reaction times - just hours of bouncing around worlds filled with artfully constructed puzzles, hunting down collectables and secret switches, all culminating in joyous boss battles?

Then you need to dig into ReCore - an Xbox-exclusive that draws heavily on the likes of Mega Man and Metroid.

You take control of Joules, exploring the barren desert world of Far Eden with her corebot Mack (an endearing dog-like robot), her rocket boots and trusty grappling hook. As you encounter more corebots, you'll discover new ways to take on foes and tackle increasingly taxing puzzles.

Fallout 4: Nuka-World

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC

Just when you thought you'd escaped the clutches of the masterful Fallout 4, Bethesda go and release its most appealing expansion to date.

Nuka-World adds a significant chunk of new gameplay to the Wastelands: you've got a whole decaying amusement park to explore, filled with themed worlds that have their own unique horrors (think zombies, Raider factions, that sort of thing).

Add a heap of new weapons and creatures to the mix and you've got yourself a great reason to get stuck back into the best game of 2015.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Game of the Year Edition

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC

What do you mean, you didn't play The Witcher 3? It was one of the finest games of 2015 - a sprawling fantasy title that saw you take on the role of Geralt of Rivia, standing against a dark force crawling over the war-torn lands of Temeria.

Not to worry - it's now got a 'Game of the Year Edition' you'll want to sink your thumbs into. It features all of the core game (which is already massive) plus the expansions Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine. If you like your fantasy full of magic, swords and death, you need this in your life.

World of Warcraft: Legion

Platforms: PC

Be honest - you've always wanted to be a demon hunter, haven't you? It's just that nobody ever asked.

Well today's the day; World of Warcraft's latest addition, Legion, allows you to play a Demon Hunter, a new hero class of an elven outcast shunned for daring to wield the terrible powers of the Legion.

Add ten new dungeons, two raids, a bunch of new artifact weapons and a new level cap of 110 and you've got yourself a very good reason to stay indoors this September.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC

Stealth or action? Hack or attack? Sneak around boxes and take down goons like a ninja, or blast through hallways like a one-man army?

These are the choices at the heart of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - the latest instalment of the superb, sci-fi-tinged RPG series that established an incredibly high bar with its formative 2000 title, Deus Ex.

The themes of the series have been tightened for the latest entry: it's 2029 and the world sits in uneasy tension between those citizens with bodily augmentation and those without. You play an agent looking to uncover some murky conspiracies behind people looking to make profit from tipping the world into a chaotic war. While being a badass.

While the storyline lurches from the predictable to the ridiculous, the core action is worth sticking around for: whether you choose to pimp out Adam Jensen as an untraceable shadow or a bullet hose, it's an immensely enjoyable gadget-filled combat experience.

F1 2016

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC

Do you enjoy F1? Are you the kind of gamer who'll happily wear a dent into their sofa as they repeat lap-after-lap of the same circuit, filling yourself with shudders of delight as you nail another apex?

Then you need F1 2016 in your life.

A massive career mode, that allows you to pick any of the 11 F1 teams, is filled with details that'll have F1 fans weeping with joy: tyre strategies, ambient weather conditions, shifting temperatures, radio communications, pit strategies. It's all here, in a package of insanely good graphics and balanced controls. Lock the door, turn off your phone, strap in and prepare for one of the greatest F1 experiences you've ever stuck in your console (or PC).

Deus Ex GO

Platforms: iOS, Android

First there was Hitman GO, a compact miniaturisation of Hitman in a neat smartphone puzzle game. Then there was Tomb Raider GO, a compact miniaturisation of Tomb Raider in a neat smartphone puzzle game. And now there's Deus Ex GO - you can see where this is going, right?

Batman: The Telltale series - Episode 1

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC (mobile coming soon)

Telltale make really, really good episodic point-and-click adventures, stories that change direction and pace with the tap of a conversation option. If you're a Game of Thrones fan, we insist you download their series this bloody minute.

Now it's the turn of DC's Dark Knight to get his own Telltale treatment, with a story that centres on a fresh wave of corruption threatening to blight Gotham's good guy, Harvey Dent.

When Bruce Wayne/Batman (that's you) discovers that Dent is falling in with Gotham's crime family to help his political campaign, you're left with a series of choices that will reshape the city (and the rest of the game). How will you treat Dent as his key supporter, Wayne? And how will you disrupt things as Batman?

A refreshingly mature Batman game, with superb voice acting, DC fans are going to want to find a comfy seat and start tapping.

No Man's Sky

Platforms: PlayStation 4, PC

Did you grow up watching Star Trek, thinking "Well this is crap. I've been born in the wrong century. All I want to do with my life is explore the galaxy, stumble upon unseen wanders, meet new aliens and shoot them"?

Good news champ - No Man's Sky is the fulfilment of that childhood dream. A true opportunity to go boldly where no one has gone before, to be master of your own ship in a sea of endless possibility.

The game hints at its frankly unsociable scale from the get go: the camera pans through an apparently infinite galaxy, before fading to white. You appear to have awoken on a planet, discovering that your ship requires some major repairs. You must scale whatever terrain you find yourself on, hunting out elements, scanning local fauna and generally bumbling about as you learn the game's controls in a haphazard-yet-intuitive fashion.

You'll find ancient ruins, hinting at a wider story that will tug on your journey. You'll find alien ships, piloted by creatures that could become friend or foe. We don't know what else you'll find - we've only been playing for a week.

The real make-or-break moment occurs the first time you blast into the open skies: does the prospect of nearly-infinite exploration, resource management, trading, space warfare and more exploration fill you with glee or dread? Can you cope without multiplayer? Does a lack of guidance float your boat or sink your spaceship?

You will either look into the void and find monotony glaring back at you, or discard all other games for the foreseeable future in favour of "Just one more planet".

Championship Manager 17

At least, that's what it feels like when you first power up Championship Manager 17 on your smartphone and are faced with the process of selecting one of 450 potential teams to guide to glory.

Fans of the Champ Man will discover the latest instalment has a gleaming new layout - which will probably result in 30 minutes of "Why did they change it?!", after which you realise it's actually all quite intuitive and slick.

First timer? Don't worry - there's a neat tutorial mode that'll take you by the hand and guide you through this veritable forest of stats, players and buttons. Kiss goodbye to your productivity.

We Happy Few

Platforms: PC (Steam - Early Access)

Grown tired of the bleak headlines on political turmoil, civil unrest and horrifying violence? Then how about escaping it all by playing a wonderful new game about political turmoil, civil unrest and horrifying violence!

Set in an alternative retrofuturistic Sixties (there's still heaps of drugs, don't worry) everyone living in the world of We Happy Few thinks that life is bloody brilliant - apart from you. If you let on that things aren't as grand as they seem, the locals will soon turn on you. It's the game George Orwell would have made.

It's not quite finished, but if you want to check it out, it's now available on Steam's 'Early Access' service.

HELP: The Game

Platforms: PC (Steam)

Want to play video games and help save the world? Course you do.

HELP: The Game is the product of 11 different developer studios, united back in September 2015 to help the charity War Child as part of a six-day 'game jam'. Working ceaselessly, they created 12 video games that are now available in this pack.

Titles include a platformer, puzzler games, logic teasers and a brilliant ball roller (pictured) that sees you take out landmines with this amazing thing. £9.99 well spent.

Dunkers

Platforms: iOS, Android

An infuriating, hilarious, addictive experience, Dunkers is sort of a basketball game (in the same way that table football is sort of a football game - it is, but it isn't).

You control a character (after a fashion, it's more luck than control) with two moves: "dunk", which moves you forward and "defend", which moves you backwards. Thing is, your arms spin continuously, without your input. You've just got to steal the ball and hope your chaotic movement will end in dunking it into your opponent's hoop.

Hyper Light Drifter

Platforms: PlatStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Macs

Forget HD graphics or 4K realism. This is the prettiest, most artful game you'll play this year. Just look at it...

The creation of the pixel-obsessives at Heart Machine, Hyper Light Drifter is a little bit of classic adventure romps (Chrono Trigger, Zelda) topped up with what we can only describe as sci-fi samurai skills.

There's a story, but it isn't told with words: other characters talk in odd little emoji and hieroglyphs. It just adds to the mystery of what's a very special experience - backed up by a soundtrack you're going to want on CD.

Be warned, it's harder than a loaf of bread you left in the back of your cupboard in 2012. But trying to beat it is one of the most captivating trials you'll face this year.

Quell Zen

Platforms: iOS, Android, PC

Video games don't always need to push your brain and reactions to their very limits to be enjoyable. Take Quell Zen, a puzzle/logic game designed to actually help you relax - and it really bloody works.

The aim of the game is to guide raindrops (d'aww) through some 200 mazes - each filled with switches and triggers that you must work out how to activate if you're to pass through a variety of barriers and obstacles. Soundtracked by one of the most soothing scores you'll ever encounter in a game, this is well worth the £2.99 download fee. Really.

Starbound

Platforms: PC

Do you like your adventures massive? Do you long to explore far-off planets and set up your own colony? Do you enjoy playing video games that never really end?

Then you're going to want to clear your diary and get stuck into Starbound - a game that's been tweaked and tinkered with since it was made available to players on Steam back in 2013. It's now been polished to the point of near-perfection, promising you limitless possibilities of space exploration, mining, colony building, heroic dare-doing - just about anything you fancy is waiting for you in this sandbox adventure.

You can either set yourself up as an intergalactic landlord, bomb about collecting rare creatures or set about saving the universe from the forces that destroyed your home - all in a gorgeous 2D world laden with detail. If it's your cup of tea, this will be the only game you play for the rest of the year.

I am Setsuna

Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4

The legacy of retro JRPGs like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 6 is plain to see in the stylings of I Am Setsuna - from the beautiful aesthetic to the mana-powered combat.

In this cute, beautiful role-playing title, Setsuna is chosen to act as a sacrifice to an evil fiend threatening to wreak havoc on her home island. You must travel with a band of friends and use kick-ass magic to help save your home and deliver Setsuna to her all-important showdown. Plug in and pretend it's 1995 all over again.

Super Stickman Golf 3

Platforms: iOS, Android

Forget crazy golf - Super Stickman Golf 3 is just about the most addictive round of 18 you can have without actually setting foot on a green.

An arcade golf experience with some neat puzzle elements (you're going to have to think about your angles if you're going to make every hole at par), the third instalment of Super Stickman comes with 20 courses and a brilliant new card system: once you complete a course or cash in some Golf Bux, you'll receive cards that unlock new character skins, power ups, hats that effect gameplay, stylish ball trails and XP points.

Chuck in some surprisingly competitive multiplayer modes to challenge your mates with, and you've got yourself one of the most rewarding 'sport' apps of the year.

Pokémon GO

Right, if you're not one of the millions to have already downloaded this augmented reality phenomena, here's the brief: it's like the world of your favourite Pokémon games had a baby with Google Maps.

You walk around real-world locations, navigating a map on which you'll be able to identify wild Pokémon to catch. You can then take on opposing teams in Gyms based at real-life locations, grab supplies at PokeStops and bump into other adults who are also reliving their childhood.

No, Pokémon GO isn't as good as loading up your old game of Pokémon Red and attempting to catch all 150. It'll drain your battery like a Rapidash on speed, and you may struggle to find any interesting Pokémon if you can't get out for a good long walk. But there's something magical here, which is bound to improve with future updates. Believe the hype.

Nanuleu

Right, we're going to talk to you about a strategy game that sees you build an army of magical trees and defend against invading dark forces.

Because that's what the delightful world of Nanuleu is actually about. Really. And it's brilliant.

You start with a single tree in a unique location. You must expand your network, gathering resources and strengthening your forest army. As you expand, you must build defences (different types of tree) to fight off shadowy little figures from neighbouring worlds.

It's a beautiful, thoughtful, well-crafted experience that deserves a spot on your iPhone. There should be more games about magic trees.

NBA Live Mobile

Platforms: iOS, Android

Mobile sports games are, by and large, pants. The controls are too fiddly, the physics don't really work and you just end up wanting to play a 'proper' console game.

Mercifully, that's not the case with NBA Live Mobile - a superb pocket companion to EA's wider basketball series. The controls are simple: there's one direction 'stick' on your screen, with three interchanging buttons that allow you to make all the basic plays.

In addition to playing five-on-five games, there's also a comprehensive management mode, allowing you to build your own 'franchise'. That's American for 'club'.

Best of all? It's free. So you've got no excuses (unless you hate basketball, in which case, fair enough).

The Higher Lower Game

Platforms: iOS, Android, PC

Higher! Higher! Lower! Higher! Bollocks.

This is essentially what you'll be doing when you fire up a round of 'The Higher Lower Game' - an app/web game that takes the familiar form and adds an element of the digital age by making you pick between average monthly searches.

Deceptively tricky, you'll be clocking along toward a high score before the dreaded happens: Does 'Tim Henman' get more monthly searches than 'Slippers'? Silly, simple fun.

INSIDE

Platforms: Xbox One (PC to follow on 7 July)

There's too much hyperbole in video games. It's exhausting. And yet, when we passed comment on INSIDE - the new atmospheric platformer from Playdead, the group behind the award-winning Limbo - we called it "the best game you'll play this year".

And it really is. No dialogue, two buttons, a deeply sinister story with more twists than a season of Game of Thrones (and as many deaths, depending on how nimble you are at the controls), it's beautiful in its simplicity. You play a young boy, isolated and on the run from an organisation apparently taking control of all humanity. Run, jump and think your way out of numerous tight-scrapes as you delve deeper into an infernal machine.

LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Wipe that smirk off your face this minute. LEGO games aren't just for kids. Under the guidance of the studio Traveller's Tale (they've made over 20 of them), they've become a new staple in the adventure platform genre - and this is the most matured of the lot.

The Force Awakens expands on the tried-and-tested movie tie-in build with some brilliant new features: there's some intense 3D flight combat that mixes up the pace of things nicely, and the shooting system for the characters has been vastly improved.

With 11 'episodes' that reveal untold stories about characters from the film (with voice acting from the real bloody cast) this is a must for Star Wars fans.

Perchang

Platforms: iOS

Remember when you were a kid? When a marble and some sort of gradient could provide you with hours of entertainment?

Perchang replicates these formative delights on your iPhone: a puzzle marble run game, every level sees you control two features - one red, one blue - with a corresponding button. It could be a magnet, a switch, a fan, a flipper - something out of a game of Mousetrap.

You need to get a certain number of balls into an end goal in an allocated time limit - a simple process that becomes joyously addictive. While looking lovely, it's the physics of this game that make it a winner. Yep, a game that gets you excited about physics. It's that good.

Hyperburner

June is something of a hangover month for the games industry, pumping itself up on the news hype of E3 before finding a sofa to curl up on and release hardly any games of note.

Mercifully, Hyperburner has blasted onto iPhones at unlikely speeds with some welcome thrills.

A high speed runner/dodger game, it sees you navigate your space craft through increasingly small gaps in oncoming debris. There are six zones to master, each with five challenges. No still image can really do it justice - it's one of the most gorgeous, fluid games you'll ever download, with graphics that rattle along at sweat-inducing speeds.

Mirror's Edge: Catalyst

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC

We've never been free running. Don't have the knees for it, and with the likes of Mirror's Edge: Catalyst around, we can experience all the thrills of jumping off cranes and seriously tall buildings from the comfort of our sofa.

You play Faith - that woman bounding over a ledge in the image. Set in the futuristic city of Glass, ruled by the shady bunch known as the Conglomerate, it's up to you to take down this bunch - which obviously involves using your amazing agility to get into areas you're not supposed to be.

We use the phrase 'stunning visuals' too much writing about games - but you know what? This game looks really, really good. A refreshing break from the average platform title.

Player.Me

Platforms: PC, iOS, Android

Okay, so this isn't a game - but you're still going to love it.

Player.me is a new social network/platform/space for anyone who loves games to share all their activity in one convenient hub, grouping together all your separate gaming accounts and personalities into one neat package. Show off the games you're playing across all your devices, share your images and videos, meet new people, find new team-mates - if you're a serious gamer, you'll wonder how you managed without it.

A turn-based strategy game with 24 chapters to its story mode, you must guide your 'Living Legend' and his crew of heavies to glory, moving across grid-based cartoon worlds to capturing saloons, shoot cowboys and build up a gang of gunslingers. It's an endearing app that'll push your tactical thinking to the limit.

Overwatch

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC

Do you hate your social life? Do you wish for an excuse to spend hours upon hours of your life glued to a controller, mastering a handful of brightly coloured characters and their unique special abilities, rattling off taunt poses at opportune moments?

Then you need Overwatch in your disc drive right now.

Having already mastered mutliplayer mechanics with the likes of World of Warcraft, Blizzard's new team shooter is sublime. The 21 heroes overlap in strengths and weaknesses like a huge game of rock-paper-scissor; the potential for tactical gameplans is mind-bogglingly massive.

Total War: Warhammer

Platform: PC

The table top strategy battle game many of us (OK, just some of us) wasted most of our childhood pocket money on has finally been given the video game treatment it deserves, with Games Workshop teaming up with the creators of the superb Total War series in a partnership as perfect as Vardy and Kane (football's coming home lads, we can feel it).

Pick from four races (men of the Empire, Dwarfs, Vampire Counts and the Orcs and Goblins) and lose your weekend to numerous campaigns and quests - or unleash carnage as one of eight legendary characters on the battlefield. No painting required.

Fallout 4: Far Harbor

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC

Just when you thought you'd exhausted the Wasteland of all its hidden gems, Bethesda releases a new chunk of story for Fallout 4 fans to fill their evenings with.

A new case from Valentine’s Detective Agency leads you on a search for a young woman and a secret colony of synths. Travelling off the coast of Maine you reach the mysterious island of Far Harbor, where higher levels of radiation have created a more feral world (the bugs are MASSIVE). It's the biggest expansion (and probably best) Bethesda has ever made for a game, so cancel your plans for the next few weeks.

Homefront: The Revolution

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC

Set in a dystopian Philadelphia ruled by an oppressive military regime, this team-based shooter relies on careful planning and strategy to get results - as well as a good deal of blowing the heck out of patrol groups with a well-aimed grenade.

Part solo shooter, part mutliplayer experience, there's a lot to get your teeth into in Homefront: The Revolution - it's a big, open world environment with an endless string of enemy troops to drain your bullets into. The story ticks along nicely, but the game is at its best when you team up with three other mates for a bout of co-op play: it's an experience you've encountered in countless other shooters, but Homefront manages to create some delightfully tricky missions that require patience and proper tactics (our preferred play of 'run in with a rocket launcher' didn't really work out).

Doom

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC

Welcome back to hell.

Some 23 years after it first came screaming in from the shadows to change video games forever, Doom returns - faster and bloodier than ever.

Set in tight, twisting corridors and industrial spaces aboard a Mars colony filled with what are basically a bunch of demons intent on chewing your face off, the new title pans out much like the game from your youth: shoot anything that moves. If you can't shoot it, punch it. Or kick it. Tear it to bright-red pieces before moving onto the next twisted horror. Seriously, it's relentless.

With an equally frantic multiplayer, this space age gore-fest is glorious-if-ridiculous. Entertainment for all the family (so long as they're over 18 and don't flinch at watching a chainsaw peel through monster limbs).

Uncharted: Fortune Hunter

Typical. You wait five years for a new Uncharted game (the remakes don't count) and you get two in one week.

To partner the release of Uncharted 4 (a game we can't really heap enough praise on - just play it already) comes this pocket-sized companion.

A pure puzzle game, you move a cartoonised Nathan Drake around tile-based boards, navigating obstacles and collecting treasures. In addition to being good fun, the app's points win prizes: link the game to your PlayStation 4 account and you can get new multiplayer rewards for the console game, likes skins and one-use bonuses.

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

Platform: PlayStation 4

Uncharted 4 feels like the game the PlayStation 4 has been waiting for: yes, there have been a lot of fine titles released in the console's two-and-a-half year history, but none of them feel quite as polished as Naughty Dog's latest Uncharted.

A refined blockbuster experience, it nudges the franchise into darker, more mature quarters. Nathan Drake is living the quiet life when his older brother (presumed dead) turns up with an insane story about a long-lost pirate colony. Yes, there are heaps of cutscenes to watch, and a lot of story to get through - but this is a taut, handsome, relentless action title.

If you haven’t played an Uncharted title before (where have you been?), this is the perfect time to acquaint yourself to Nathan Drake.

Snake.io

Platforms: Android

This is evolution in a game - which might sound like a crap science project from your youth, but it's actually surprisingly addictive.

You control a snake/worm, eating food and other worms in order to grow in length and improve your score. However, the other worms you're competing against are controlled by real-life people from around the globe. It's survival of the fittest.

INKS.

Platform: iOS

Ever played a game of pinball and thought "This could do with more paint"? Us neither, but it's an idea that clearly struck in the minds of State of Play Games.

Their new pinball creation is a work of art - literally. There are over 100 pinball tables, each with a unique shape a set of 'inks' to thrash your ball into. Tables are 'completed' once you've exhausted the ink supply, leaving you with a messy, beautiful creation. Take a snap when you're done and hang it on the fridge.

Sea Hero Quest

Sea Hero Quest deserves every ounce of hyperbole you care to slap on it.

Every two minutes spent exploring the beautiful aquatic locations of the app is equal to five hours of lab-based research into dementia.

Navigate mazes, shoot flares to test players’ orientation, chase creatures to capture photos of them, all the while providing researchers with invaluable data on spatial navigation - a key skill that can be lost with early onset dementia.

Battleborn

Platforms: PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4

If you fuelled a first-person shooter with sugary sweets, Coke and upgrades, you'd end up with a right mess. That's not how you make video games, you fool.

But it's not a bad way to describe the high-octane thrills on offer in Battleborn. A first-person shooter with a focus on online, manic multiplayer battles, you get to pick from a brightly-coloured rostra of characters - the Battleborn - to partake in a war to protect the universe's very last star a 'mysterious evil'.

While a solo campaign offers some good old "run here, shoot that" missions, the real meat of the action is to be had in the three multiplayer modes: Incursion (defend a base from enemy AI), Capture (occupy points on a map) and Meltdown (a bonkers game that sees you guiding minions to a giant incinerator). Fast, furious and a lot of fun.

The Banner Saga 2

Platforms: PC

Vikings. They're up there with ninjas, space marines and professional footballers in the list of "characters we'll only get to be in video games".

A sequel to the beautiful Banner Saga that finally arrived on consoles at the beginning of the year, this new hand-drawn title is somehow even prettier than its predecessor. Choose a race, pick your character and lead your caravan of hardened warriors on an epic battle of survival through frozen wastelands.

Manage your supplies, take on fearsome armies, hone your battle tactics - all while taking in some of the best looking game artwork you've ever seen.

Fallen London

Platforms: iOS

"That looks familiar..."

Good spot - there's finally a miniaturised version of one of the best web games ever made.

A literary role-playing game, Fallen London is a dark, gothic tale of fantasy: Thirty years ago, London was stolen. Now resting on the shore of the Unterzee, that old dark ocean under the world, immortality is now cheap, and the screaming has largely stopped…

Part book, part game, this threatens to become your new commute obsession.

Football CEO Pro

Platforms: iOS, Android

"It's not the manager's fault, it's the owners/board/CEO!"

The gripe of modern football fan is the core focus of this mobile footy sim, Football CEO Pro. You're in charge of the operational and commercial functions of the club - everything from team sponsor to hiring and firing staff, setting price tickets to negotiating contracts.

There's an added incentive to letting yourself slip into this addictive management experience: proceeds from the app go to supporting Vi-Ability community initiatives, helping young people gain qualifications in commercial sports management.

Ratchet & Clank

Platforms: PlayStation 4

Stick with us here, but this is a game, based on an upcoming film, based on the original 2002 game. While that sounds like a recipe for disaster, Sony's beloved platforming duo somehow manages to pull it off.

It's not just the graphics that have improved in the 14 years since the original PS2 title: the action is tighter, the levels more challenging, the pace a little brisker.

The story follows the same arc of uniting the two unlikely friends, working out what the heck Captain Qwark is up to and invariably saving the galaxy. It's not a dull retelling of an old story, but a joyous slice of slick jump-n-shoot fun, with credible jokes to boot.

Hammer Bomb

Ever wondered what Pac-Man must have seen as he made his way around his eternal prison? Us neither, but it's the best way of explaining the first-person perspective of this maze game.

Run around mazes, pick up power-ups (pizza, pies, that kind of thing), arm yourself with pointy things and take on increasingly menacing bosses. A simple, brilliantly-executed dungeon arcade adventure.

Star Fox Zero

Not a prequel, not really a sequel, definitely not a remake, the new Zero title is a little bit of what you loved about the original Star Fox titles, built specifically for the Wii U's unique screened controller.

Action moves from your telly to your GamePad screen, a mechanic which is both fun, yet frustrating in some key battles. If you've got a deep love of space combat games, you're going to want to get stuck into this.

Dark Souls 3

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC

Only one major video game came out this week - which is just as well, because it's going to consume your attention.

You're not going to enjoy Dark Souls 3. It's impossible. Even people who say they love it, who are set to spend the better part of their year running around its grim streets and horrible haunts - they aren't really enjoying themselves.

This game is a slave master. An assault on your confidence. A sadomasochist locked within a video game. Just as you start to think you've got a grip on how to build your character, how to wield your sword, how to time the perfect counter - crunch - you're dead.

And when you finally slam the final inch of life out of that boss's health bar, you're not having 'fun'. It's more important than that. It's more than a game. It's therapy.

DiRT RALLY

Back when controllers were still attached to consoles with wires, every year brought a clutch of deeply impressive rally driving games - to the point where they saturated and ran out of ideas.

DiRT RALLY is an overdue return to the glory days of driving games dedicated to 'going quickly while sideways'. Visually stunning, with a garage-load of cars to drive and real-world locations to master, it's set to rekindle your lost desire of chasing fractions of a second to become a master of the time trial.

Shadow Bug

Platforms: iOS

Be honest, you didn't know you wanted to be an overpowered ninja insect hero until Shadow Bug offered you the opportunity, did you?

A complicated, layered story that sees you battle through a series of hideous factory monsters threatening your beautiful forest, it's all a complicated allegory of humanity's rampant destruction of the Earth's natural resources. But you'll probably just play it for all the ninja slicing you can do.

Quantum Break

While the TV show element of Quantum Break follows the actions of the sinister Monarch Solutions, the game focuses on the exploits of Jack Joyce - a man tasked with cleaning up a heck of a mess after a time machine goes wrong. It's okay though, he (or rather, you) is equipped with time travelling powers, turning the average fire fight into a tactical freeze frame affair.

As you play through each chapter, the game then flips to the digital show, giving you an insight into how things pan out for the enemy factions. It's a novel (if sometimes jarring) ride, and one you should definitely plug into.

Exploding Kittens

Platforms: iOS (Android soon)

Now what part of that name hasn't already got you hooked?

The award-winning card game that rose to fame after it smashed its Kickstarter campaign has been modified into a seamless app experience: a cross between Russian Roulette and UNO. Players draw cards with increasingly bizarre, ridiculous abilities until the Exploding Kitten enters the game.

The online multiplayer is going to ruin what little battery life remains on your poor old iPhone.

EVE Valkyrie

Platforms: Oculus Rift, PC

"The Oculus Rift is too expensive - it needs more games before I bother buying it."

Fair enough, but that delay means you're just missing out on the hours you could be pouring into EVE Valkyrie - the space combat game that will almost certainly result in you staying indoors for the majority of the summer.

Take part in massive dog fights, upgrade your own craft or just hunt out hidden audio clips in an exploratory single-player mode - it's the sort of game you wanted to play when you were 12-years-old but never thought could be made reality.

King Rabbit - Find Gold, Rescue Bunnies

Platforms: iOS

Seriously, 'Find Gold, Rescue Bunnies' is how this game sells itself on the App Store. What more do you need to know.

Fine: the sequel to Furdemption - A Quest For Wings, this platforming puzzle game sees you play a totes adorbes rabbit king who must battle all manner of demons to save your bunny kingdom. Use enchanted crowns, push blocks about, dodge saws, throw bombs - it's the twisted lovechild of Mario and Watership Down. What a sordid mental image that is...

Adrift

Platforms: Oculus Rift, PC

The VR revolution has begun - and its got it's first 'killer app'.

A narrative-driven exploration game, you take the role of an astronaut trapped in orbit aboard a space station that's slowly falling apart. We played Adr1ft shortly before it's release; the level of immersion provided by the Oculus Rift is staggering. As you glide through zero gravity looking for your next air bottle to top up your dwindling supplies, we found ourselves holding our breath in real life.

If this is the bar set by the first generation of VR video games, this new platform is going to clean the floor with traditional experiences before the end of the decade.

Super Arc Light

Platforms: iOS

How are your reflexes?

This pocket-sized shooter should test their mettle: a modern take on survival blaster classic Asteroids, Super Arc Light sees you control a small ship with a single hand, guiding it around a central arc of light that acts as your base.

Tapping the screen to spew out waves of lasers at incoming foe, collecting upgrades as you progress to take on the increasingly challenging enemies. The moment your base is destroyed its game over - record your high score and start all over again.

Telepaint

Platforms: iOS

Telepaint doesn't have a conventional hero - but then it's not a very conventional platformer.

You control buckets of walking paint that can teleport (that name makes a lot more sense now, right?). Tap the portals to guide the bucket to the right key/door/area, and groan in frustration as what appeared to be a simple level turns out to be a complex brain teaser. Throw in a soundtrack that responds to your movement and you've got yourself a captivating app experience.

Mimpi Dreams

Platform: iOS

Sure, a platforming adventure about a small white dog that pees on checkpoints to save your progress might not sound like the most mature of escapades - but it's bloody good fun.

The twisted dream worlds of Mimpi are all delightfully animated, filled with moving hazards and pitfalls you have to jump over (or pee on) as you find your way to your bed. A delightful way to kill your weekend.

Hitman

Platforms: PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4

Now this is a bit different.

Rather than releasing the sixth edition of the stealthy assassination title Hitman all in one go, the new game is arriving episodically. Because... we're not sure, but if it means we get more Hitman, we're happy.

The first episode sees you get a prologue mission and take on a hit in Paris - both with a variety of changeable scenarios that provide plenty of replay value. No, it doesn't feel like a full game, but its a brilliant introduction to a promising new title.

Tom Clancy's The Division

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC

After several delays, the post-apocalyptic world of Tom Clancy's The Division is finally, finally here. And it's been worth the wait.

Set in a bleak Manhattan, a virus spread by physical currency has left the US on its knees. You're part of a band of sleeper agents, The Division, called in to help stabilise society and help develop a vaccine for the virus.

A fascinating blend of multiplayer, co-operative missions and character building, there's a rich experience here for those who delve into it.

Heavy Rain & Beyond: Two Souls

With no major titles released this week, PlayStation have looked to fill the void in their schedule with a peach: a double pack of two of the best narrative games from the Quantic Dream studios.

The film noir thriller Heavy Rain sees you take control of four different characters in the hunt for a missing child taken by the Origami Killer, with heaps of twists and turns, concluding in one of the best endings of a video game we've ever played.

Beyond: Two Souls took the employed skills of Willem Dafoe and Ellen Page in a story-driven game following a girl with unusual psychic abilities, linking the worlds of the living and the dead. A proper 'blockbuster' title, it's an involving narrative experience.

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD

Platforms: Wii U

Another blast from the bast, giving Wii U owners a chance to relive a classic Zelda experience.

Originally released in 2006 for the GameCube (yep, it's that old) and Wii, Twilight Princess is one of the best Nintendo titles of the last decade: Link must navigate the Realm of Twilight to help bring about an end to the evil Zant's rule of Hyrule. There are nine dungeons to explore and massive boss battles to be had - all with polished HD graphics and refined controls.

Despite being a decade old, it's still worth sinking a week of your life into this.

Blackbox

Platforms: iOS

Blackbox is a very, very clever app.

Not a single one of its 50 puzzles is solved by tapping around on your iPhone screen: each solution lies in tweaking an aspect of your phone.

Colours correspond to functions, from fiddling with your screen brightness to plugging in your charging cable. Some will appear utterly unsolvable until another puzzle makes you realise something you never knew you could do with your handset.

Sparkwave

Platforms: iOS

So you think you've got some pretty nifty thumb reflexes, do you?

Allow Sparkwave to make a mockery of your confidence.

A 'twitch' game, you navigate through a shifting track of hexagonal tiles. Avoid blocks, collect power ups and keep adding precious seconds to the final countdown. Fall off a tile and you're in serious danger of blowing up.

Fast, furious, and importantly, free. You're going to suck at it though.

Firewatch

Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4

Okay, so this one came out a few weeks ago - but you'll let us off, right? Thanks.

The year is 1989. You are a man named Henry who has retreated from your messy life to work as a fire lookout in the Wyoming wilderness. Perched atop a mountain, it's your job to find smoke and keep the wilderness safe - but when you venture out of your tower to explore something, things take a turn for the bizarre.

If you prefer your games to be a bit different, special and unique, you need look no further.

Far Cry: Primal

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC

Bored of guns and grenades? Craving something a bit carnal?

Far Cry has shifted from its tried-and-tested formula of mercenaries and AK47s for a bold reimagining of the Stone Age. You take on the role of a Wenja tribesman named Takkar, stranded in the wilderness after your hunting party is ambushed.

Using your skills of animal taming and weapon building, it's up to you to form your own new tribe and rule the wild.

Futurama: Game of Drones

Platforms: iOS, Android

Futurama is back!

Well, sort of. Its officially branded 'match-four' app has launched to help scratch the itch of fans missing the show.

Prof Farnsworth has employed you to clean up a batch of toxic drones (stick with us), grouping them into batches of four of the same colour. You progress by collecting a required number of coloured targets, with points given for finishing with as few moves as possible.

Throw in enemy drones, power ups and a heap of references, and you've got your new Candy Crush replacement.

The Swords

Platforms: iOS

Remember Fruit Ninja? That game that everyone was wiggling their finger at in 2010, seeing you dice up melons with an invisible blade?

The Swords is nothing like that - other than following a similar idea of swordplay with your digits. You're a swordsman, learning the ancient art passed down by a grandmaster, with each level introducing you to a new skill. You 'flow' your finger/blade over the screen, looking to break the tips of enemy swordsmen with deft swipes.

Street Fighter V

Platforms: PlayStation 4

Some thirty titles in, and Street Fighter finally arrives at its fifth instalment. Don't ask us how they run the numbers on these things...

In addition to gorgeous new visuals (you need to see it in action to understand just how beautiful its cartoon-style graphics are) and new characters (FANG has a terrifyingly long reach), the new 'V-Trigger' system acts as a great leveller: as you take damage, you fill your V-Trigger, allowing you to unleash a devastating move to save the day.

It's a little bit of what you love from the old Street Fighter titles, with some well balanced new additions.

Abzorb

Platforms: iOS

Clean, crisp and challenging, Abzorb is a tilt-n-shuffle arcade game that's going to haunt your every waking hour (or until you finish its 65 levels).

A distant relation to classic experiences like Asteroids, you control a little triangle, tilting it around your iPhone screen. Your aim is to fill a blue circle surrounding your tiny ship, collecting blue 'energy' from passing blue spheres. Get too close to a red sphere and it'll sap the time you've got left to complete the level - with new foe entering later in the game.

TRON RUN/r

Platforms: PC

While Disney's TRON film reboot divided opinions, their new runner/platformer/action driver title is worthy of universal praise.

As the name suggests, you do a lot of running - blitzing through neon corridors and hazardous digital terrain. The game has two main modes: DISC, in which you run, jump and hover about, throwing your light disc at obstacles and foe. CYCLE sees you jump on the franchise's iconic bike, tearing through gates and pulling off stunt jumps.

Stellar Wanderer

Pick between being a FIGHTER, TRADER, TANK or ENGINEER (we don't know why the capitalise them either, it's that kind of game), and glide about space, trading, fighting or mining as you see fit. There's an impressive main story (about 10 hours in all) and heaps of side quests.

If you've got a long journey coming up, you're going to want this on your iPhone/iPad.

Unravel

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC

Yes, Unravel looks very lovely. Cute, even. But don't you dare go thinking this is a kid's title that got placed on the wrong shelf - there's some hugely pleasing platforming action at the heart of this.

You control silent protagonist Yarny (really, it's not just for kids), a small red doll who can use his trail of red thread (yarn) to negotiate a gorgeous world filled with drops, foes and lots of conveniently placed hooks. From swinging across voids to forming ramps, the game keeps inventing new ways for you to use your body-forming thread - which has to be replenished throughout your journey.

Dying Light: The Following

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC

The hugely entertaining action of zombies-plus-parkour returns, with a new standalone expansion to 2015's Dying Light.

Playing Kyle Crane, you head outside the relative safety of Harran in search of a cure for the zombie infection that's ruined the world, hearing that some groups out in the country have managed to harness an immunity. There follows a run in with a religious cult, a bust up with a rival gang and a heck of a lot more zombies to stick sharp things in.

_PRISM

Platforms: iOS

Do you love puzzles? Of course you do - you're an educated ShortList reader, which means you're going to adore _PRISM.

With beautiful visuals and a trippy soundtrack, _PRISM is a captivating geometric puzzle game. In essence, you slide lines around microscopic shapes in order to line dots up, but that's a cruel way of unpacking what's a hugely rewarding experience.

You'll pinch, zoom and tilt your way through puzzles, interacting with your phone in a manner few other games would think to employ. It's one to relax with rather than exhaust your mental faculties.

Away

Okay, so Away isn't actually a game. It's a meditation and mindfulness app, which despite sounding like a oxymoron is actually surprisingly effective at chilling you out at the end of a shitty day.

Presented with a gorgeous forest scene, you select your preferred time of day - a process that changes lighting levels, ambient sounds and various other elements of the picture. You can drag a virtual microphone around to tune in on different elements - from the sound of rustling leaves to a babbling brook.

A timer function allows you to set the app to provide gentle white noise to fall asleep to, before shutting down after an allocated amount of time.

So no, you're not about to get a new high score on this one - but it might save your week.

Assassins' Creed Chronicles Trilogy

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One

We've featured several of these Assassin's Lite releases over the past months, but now all three of Ubisoft's 2.5-dimensional titles (they're like old-school platformers, but with a bit more depth to move about in) are available in one package.

Expanding the Creed universe to include adventures in China, India and Russia, each game is packed with stealth, platforming and impressive combat. No, there's not as much to it as a core Assassin's Creed game, but fans of the wider franchise will love the development of the story.

Call of Duty: Black Ops III - Awakening

Platforms: PlayStation 4

Just when you thought you'd bled Black Ops III dry, a new DLC arrives to bring some new life (or death?) to the title.

Awakening adds some serious meat to the game, with new maps (including a re-imagining of Black Ops II's Highjacked) adding new challenges to the multiplayer experience. There's also Der Eisendrache - a new zombie adventure set in a ruined castle. Superbly silly, it adds some slapstick to the main game's metal.

Space Grunts

The noises are just part of the joy held within the tiny world of Space Grunts - a turn-based, tabletop strategy game (or a 'roguelike', if you know your gaming lingo).

Set in 2476, you control one of three Space Grunts around an alien-infested moon base. Armed with three weapon types, you must carefully plan your moves and shots to ensure you take out the invaders with your limited ammo supply.

With the game generating a new layout with every play through, this is set to make your next long-haul journey an utter delight.

XCOM 2

Platforms: PC

"Games are too easy these days. There's no challenge any more."

XCOM 2 would beg to differ.

You can't fudge success in this strategy title. In a hostile Earth occupied by alien forces, one wrong command to your band of four warriors can undo hours of meticulous planning. Hit the wrong target first? Try again. Not equipped your team with the right tech? Try again.

XCOM 2 is the kind of game that tests you, breaks you, but ultimately improves you as a strategist. It's horrible, infuriating and absolutely brilliant. You need to play it.

Swing

You've probably played a game a lot like Swing before - but we can guarantee it didn't have quite the polished feel of this mobile gem.

If the title didn't give it away, you must 'swing' your tiny hero from a ledge across a void to another ledge of varying thickness.

Draw your character back from the ledge, lengthening his rope and thus altering the distance of his swing. Too short and he'll not make the jump, too long and he'll overcook it and plunge to his cartoonish death.

A wonderful game that'll have you hunting combos as your friends give up attempting to get you off your phone.

Circa Infinity

Platforms: iOS

We could spend hours attempting to describe this puzzle game to you and only capture an ounce of its brilliance.

Guide your running character through 50 circular levels, aiming to jump into the next expanding ring via a shifting segment while avoiding the various parading nasties. There are even boss fights, but they're even more impossible to put words to.

Part platformer, part LSD-fuelled trip, make sure you play this sitting in a comfortable chair with your loved ones close at hand, ready to pull your warped mind back into non-circular reality.

The Witness

Platform: PC

The Witness isn't your average video game. By which we mean, you're not a super soldier and there aren't any bad guys.

You wake up alone, on a mysterious island (no, J J Abrams isn't involved) with no memory of why you're there. As you begin exploring your surroundings, you encounter puzzles, mazes and obstacles - which only increase in complexity as your wanderings take you further.

With over 500 games to master, this could be responsible for a number of late nights in the months ahead.

Twofold

Platforms: iOS

You wait months for one super addictive puzzle app to turn up, then two arrive at once.

Another matching puzzler, you'll have found aspects of Twofold in many other popular apps: you've got to match up coloured squares in a grid, drawing your finger to trace lines between matching colours. The tricky aspect of the game is in ensuring your scores match the required scores for each colour - meaning sometimes you have to line up much larger combinations to reach certain targets.

Darkest Dungeon

Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, PC

When was the last time you got lost exploring a Gothic dungeon? Thought so - but that's because you've not been playing this.

A turn-based strategy game that gains wonderful tone from its illustrated visuals, you must keep your pack of heroes healthy and happy as they explore dark, dingy corners of a series of dungeons. Should their stress levels reach dangerous heights, things get tricky.

A complex gem with heaps of items to find, skills to unlock and heroes to master, there's a rewarding experience to be had for all who dig deep into Darkest Dungeon's shadowy vaults.

Open Bar: Keep Em Coming

Platforms: iOS

It's Tetris meets Candy Crush - in a game that's far more inventive than our clumsy summary would suggest.

Open Bar is a gorgeous puzzler that tasks you with linking three coloured bars to overlapping grids of bars. With some flips and spins, you can make the bars match and move onto the next short puzzle. With infinite levels to clock through, it could turn into a worrying habit.

Best head to this demo to see it in action. It's the perfect time killer while you wait for your mate to turn up to a real life bar.

LEGO Marvel's Avengers

TT Games have been making gorgeous LEGO franchise games for the better part of a decade now - and it's now the turn of the Marvel Avengers universe to receive some of their familiar brick-based magic.

You get to play through the events of Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron with a huge selection of Marvel heroes (and villains) - searching out levers, boxes and switches as you negotiate the fun-filled levels.

Will it demand the attention of a seasoned gaming pro? No. Is it ideal for a lazy Friday evening when you want to turn your brain off and have a laugh? Absolutely.

Punch Club

Platforms: iOS, PC

Punch Club reads like one of those glorious eighties action films you watch on a wet Sunday: having witnessed your father's brutal murder, you must train hard, eat chicken and punch dudes in the face to earn your place in the Punch Club ranks, and discover who ended your father's life.

But this isn't a simple pocket beat'em'up - with an involving storyline, RPG elements and stacks of stats to build, this feels more like a classic console game built for the iPhone generation. The best £3.99 you'll spend on an app.

Life is Strange

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC

One of the biggest 'alternative' hits of 2015, Life is Strange was - for want of a better word - strange.

A five-part episodic series, you play Max - a photography student who saves her old friend Chloe by discovering she can rewind time. This isn't about gunplay and XP points; the story changes around your choices as you slip back in time to uncover the disturbing truth about a missing pupil.

Now available on a single disc, you're going to be replaying this one by the end of the year.

Resident Evil Origins Collection

Platforms: PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4

The Origins Collection packs two horrors for the price of one: the superbly nostalgic HD remake of the original Resident Evil (the acting is as woeful as it was back in 1996 - and that's a good thing) and Resident Evil 0, a polished version of the title that graced the GameCube way back in 2002.

No, it doesn't live up to the fast-paced gameplay modern consoles now thrive on - but if you long for the shuffling zombies of old, with (vastly) improved controls and visuals, this is a must.

Swapperoo

Platforms: iOS

Bored of Candy Crush Saga? Of course you are.

Swapperoo is a match-three tile game. But it's brilliant. Having knocked off the early (easy) levels, things get interesting as the game starts introducing rogue tiles: some that you have to protect, some that need deleting within a move limit and some that even chase you.

That Dragon, Cancer

Platforms: PC

That Dragon, Cancer doesn't have the best graphics. It isn't littered with multiplayer thrills. But it could leave a bigger impression on you than any other game you play this year.

A point-and-click story, this is an "immersive narrative videogame" that retells Joel Green’s (son of the lead developer Ryan Green) four-year fight against cancer through about two hours of emotional exploration.

Bleach: Brave Souls

Platforms: iOS, Android

The hack'n'slash-em-up based on the hugely popular anime series, Bleach: Brave Souls has been turning heads (and thumbs) in Japan ever since it launched in July 2015 - and now it's finally received a worldwide release.

Build a team of three fighters with unique abilities, take part in online battles or go it alone in story mode - this mean little fighter is going to be responsible for draining your battery for the next month or two.

A gorgeous side-scrolling adventure firmly in the vein of classics like Prince of Persia, India takes place in Amritsar, 1841, where tensions between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company are escalating quickly.

Employing a slimmed down slice of stealth, combat and action from the larger series, this is a must for fans of all things AC.

Into the Dim

Platform: iOS

Do you miss the days of simple dungeon crawlers on your greyscale Game Boy? Us neither - and then we had go on Into the Dim and changed our tune.

A classic role playing game, you control a boy and his dog, smiting hideous foes, collecting coins and generally going about the simple tasks you've been playing in games since your childhood - but on your mobile.

The chiptune soundtrack makes this worth a download alone - and it's free.

The Banner Saga

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Turn-based tactical games are something of a rarity these days - but the team at Stoic studio still have a soft spot for it.

Their new Viking-themed game - The Banner Saga - is a triumph of storytelling and head-scratching combat: you pick combatants from a list of classes, upgrade armour and skills - and generally go about pillaging in a gorgeous hand-painted world.

New for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, if you want to play it out and about there's a superb mobile version already available.